Tag Archives: car seat

Car seats haven’t been a topic for debate in our family. I was adamant about getting a fantastic car seat for Harley when she was an infant, and when it was time for her to get something bigger, I was lucky enough to get a Volvo Britax seat for her that lets her rear face until she is 4-6 years old. Harley has never been in a car without a car seat. It simply wasn’t an option. If we had to go somewhere, she was in her seat – if we didn’t have a car seat, she simply couldn’t go.

Moms often feel isolated with kids, like they can’t leave the house, let alone travel to cool places, with their tiny person. I always encourage parents to just keep living their lives, with little ones along for the ride, but sometimes this is an easier task than other times. It’s always easiest when we drive in our car. The car seat is installed, and it is quick and easy to just pop Harley in and out. Things get trickier when traveling, but it’s still totally doable. Here are the ways and means that can help you still see the world, even if you aren’t in your usual vehicle. Continue Reading

A couple weeks ago, I reviewed the Volvo Britax Max-Way car seat, and I had one to give away to a lucky winner. I actually felt bad about the competition – when your comments started pouring in telling me about your little ones, I wanted each and every one of you to win. I really wish we had many more for you to win, but there are giveaways currently running, so if you didn’t win, please head over to the #CarseatFullstop campaign page and check out the other giveaways and info. You might save a life by sharing, and you might win a car seat by getting involved.

Meanwhile, a quick funny story before I tell you who won. Thanks so the drama that is our life, Dean and I thought that we were going to be changing vehicles recently, so we took the Volvo car seat out of our car. The next morning, due to the complexity of installing the thing, we decided to throw Harley’s infant seat back in the car instead. She is still within the weight limit for it, and she always loved it so we figured it wouldn’t be an issue. She now is one of those crying in the car babies, which she’s never been. I guess once she traveled in First Class, she didn’t want to go back to Economy. Continue Reading

Bullying is awful and a big deal. I don’t envy kids today – thanks to social media, school bullying doesn’t end with the last bell and can cause serious psychological scars. But it’s not just kids who get bullied. There’s that woman who accidentally shared a picture intended for her husband with a whole Whatsapp group, who is being shamed by almost all of South Africa through the continual sharing of her picture. Or the parents of the kid who fell in with Harambe, who were blamed and accused of being bad parents. Or anyone who is shamed in shopping centers for breastfeeding, or for having a toddler throw a tantrum, or for going back to work, or for not going back to work… the list goes on and on.

I often write about feeling judged, about my continual affirmation that no one can tell me how to raise my kid. I’ve talked about not apologizing when Harley cries, or about how I know what’s best for my little one and how irritated I get when other people tell me that she must be cold or need to eat differently. I am adamant that every baby is different and that I don’t care what people do – if they want to use disposable or cloth nappies, if they opt for breast or bottle, if they stay home or work, if kids are put in creche/day care or stay home with a nanny or au pair. Everyone needs to make life work for them, and who am I to judge anyone for any of those decisions? So I’ve been a bit taken aback by a new instinct I’ve had. Continue Reading

I have already told you how important it is for kids under four to face backwards. It’s one of the big things I learned since joining the #CarseatFullstop campaign. Carseats were always important to me – it was a no brainer that Harley had to be in a car seat from the moment we brought her home from the hospital. But as she has gotten older, I’ve wondered which seat would be best when she outgrew her awesome chair. Once I learned that she needed to keep facing the back of the car, I wondered which model would be best. Well, I didn’t need to wonder much longer – Volvo were kind enough to send me one of their toddler seats for review.

I didn’t grow up in car culture. I grew up in New York City, where public transportation and taxis and walking are the norm. As a result, I didn’t grow up around cars and car seats, instead learning about them once I moved to car-centered cities as an adult.

This is actually a good thing, though – the information about child restraints has evolved a lot in the past 20-30 years, and research continues to show the importance of rear-facing seats. Harley’s infant seat was obviously rear facing, as is the norm for all infants, but she will probably grow out of it in the coming months, which means we’ll need to buy her a new one. But she will continue to face the back of the car, and here’s why. Continue Reading